David Longstreth of Dirty Projectors to Play Two Shows in Intimate Point Reyes Venue

Dirty Projectors frontman performing classic albums, new material at the Dance Palace on November 7 & 8

The regular calendar for the Dance Palace in Point Reyes Station reads like your standard Marin County community fare. There will be some pilates classes, a few yoga lessons, instructional classes for senior citizens and a staging of “The Mitten – A Christmas Play for Little Ones and their Families,” put on by a group of elementary school students, which just sounds adorable.

And oh yeah, it will also host a couple of performances from one of the most acclaimed indie rock musicians of the past 25 years.

On November 7 and November 8, David Longstreth of Dirty Projectors fame will play a couple of intimate solo shows at the uber–cozy neighborhood venue. He’ll be joined by Alex Bleeker, bassist for beloved New Jersey slack rockers Real Estate. A North Bay resident, Bleeker (who will be performing his own solo songs these nights as well) approached Longstreth with the idea of playing at the Dance Palace.

“I love the area,” said Longstreth. “I try to spend as much time up there as I can. Alex just hit me up and said he was going to start booking shows at the Dance Palace, and that I was the first person he thought of. I didn’t really have to think much about it–I was like, ‘let’s do this.”

For the shows in Point Reyes, Longstreth will perform some of his newest material for an opening first set and then follow with solo performances of two legendary Dirty Projectors’ albums—“Swing Lo Magellan” (on November 7) and “Bitte Orca” (on November 8.)

These performances will come on the heels of an experimental run of recent shows billed as TBA/D-lo (To Be Announced/David Longstreth) a billing that feels right, since the line between Dirty Projectors and David Longstreth has always been blurry–he’s the only permanent member, and the project has oscillated between pure solo efforts and more traditional “band” outings.

With the ephemeral character of the Dirty Projectors made all the more unclear by the evolving trends of music, post-pandemic (when live performances and touring schedules were completely disrupted), Longstreth has leaned into that opacity. The TBA/D-LO shows were a pretty masterful way of acknowledging the futile nature of labels.

“The pandemic gave us an opportunity to rethink so many things,” said Longstreth. “For me, one is the idea that the live show is basically marketing for the album. There’s a huge creative opportunity in working things out in front of people, inviting the audience to become a part of it. There is something really special about playing songs that no one knows yet — the heightened attention, the sharing and receiving in real time.” 

“And there can be so much pleasure, for audience and performer alike, in embracing the dynamic differences between live show and recorded album–the painterly possibilities of recording; the elastic, improvisatory, unpredictable dimensions of performance. So, with these TBA/D-lo shows — Dance Palace included — I want to place primacy on the live experience–all of us coming together, exactly once, to create something in real life and outside of clean definitions, in that time and place.”

When and how Longstreth decides to release new tunes, they will certainly be revelatory (he said he’s experimenting with beat-driven, Brazilian-inspired and jazzier compositions, among other directions.) The music of Dirty Projectors has always been wildly ambitious and unique, ranging from concept albums about the Eagles’ Don Henley (yes, him), elaborate re-imaginings of classic punk releases, soaring indie rock statements and bucolic folk recordings. 

In recent years, he’s focused his efforts on “Song of the Earth,” an orchestral spectacle that premiered at the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 2023. The last Dirty Projectors release was a 2020 collection of 5 EPS, all essentially released simultaneously.

In fact, it had been years since Longstreth truly explored the songs from classic Dirty Projectors releases like “Swing Lo Magellan” and “Bitte Orca.” He was inspired to revisit those albums after a gig in Portugal, when he spontaneously began rehearsing “The Bride,” a deeper cut from “Bitte Orca.” Feeling enlivened by that bit of pre-show muscle memory, he performed the song live and was met with a rapturous response from the crowd.

“To me, the pleasure was in the rediscovery, and in performing it spontaneously, on short notice,” said Longsteth. “I was surprised and heartened that the Portuguese audience recognized the song, of course. But, honestly, the decision to revisit those records was more introspective and to do with my own process.”

Longstreth said he’s still determining how to recreate the intricate, interweaving elements of those albums as a solo artist. Both releases featured starring vocal contributions from Amber Coffman, Longstreth’s former girlfriend and one-time bandmate in Dirty Projectors. Transforming those many moving parts into a singular effort should be a formidable challenge for Longstreth, but one completely within his capabilities. After all, this is the artist who recreated Black Flag’s hardcore masterpiece “Damaged” into a beguiling art-rock manifesto.

“Sometimes artists have these very intentional moves to revisit an older album, and for better or worse, this is not that,” said Longstreth. “This is really just because I think it would be fun to see how it feels. Part of that is the curiosity that comes along with how exactly I’m going to play these songs.” 

The unpredictable nature of these shows will only add to the special feeling sure to accompany these small, communal gatherings. For a few nights, the Dance Palace will be that place of primacy and performance that Longstreth always seeks to create.  

Show Details:
David Longstreth with Alex Bleeker
Where: The Dance Palace
When: 8:15 p.m., Thursday, November 7 and Friday, November 8
Tickets: $54, Friday sold out, Thursday tickets available here.

Black Lips Celebrate 25 Years of Vital, Irreverent Garage Rock

Photo credit: Alexandra Cabral

Nearly 30 years ago, a teacher from an Atlanta area middle school had some harsh words for the parents of Jared Swilley—namely that their 13-year-old son should stop hanging out with his irascible and troublemaking pal, Cole Alexander.

Swilley—as per his natural inclination during those halcyon days of his youth—opted to ignore the warnings. It was a very fortunate decision for everyone who’s a fan of the Black Lips, the beloved Atlanta garage rock band who will play at the Rickshaw Stop on Sunday as part of the annual Psyched Fest put on by the local station Psyched! Radio.

“At the time, I think Cole had just recently set his head on fire so he would have a funny haircut,” recalled Swilley. “People were concerned about that. But we both had pretty acute cases of oppositional defiance disorders in those days, so my immediate thought was, ‘well, I’m going to hang out with this guy every day now.’”

For a band whose rise to fame was fueled by a combustible combination of outrageous live performances and a well-documented appreciation for the more hedonistic offerings of the rock n roll world, the Black Lips are improbably enjoying their 25th year of existence. And at the core of the operation are Alexander and Swilley, two childhood comrades making music that still feels as vital, inventive and deliciously unpredictable as the tunes they first unleashed in the early Aughts.

“When we first started this thing, everyone was always asking us—‘well, what’s your backup plan,’” said Swilley. “And while we never really expected our band to be huge or anything, we didn’t have that backup plan, because we all enjoyed playing music so much. It made it easier for us to survive those early years, because we would absolutely be fine playing basements and sleeping in a van. We’re not doing that same thing anymore, but we still have that love for what we do. It’s all we know.”

One major reason for the band’s longevity and relevancy is the open-door policy they embrace for songwriting. While crafting plenty of legendary tunes over the years, Alexander and Swilley have always encouraged their fellow bandmates to bring their own ideas for Black Lips albums. That’s evident in the group’s most recent release, “Apocalypse Love.” 

Another amalgamation of neo-psychedelia, folk, punk rock and swampy Americana, the album features a number of memorable contributions from guitarist Jeff Clarke, who joined the band in 2018. Songs penned by Clarke include the dusty cowboy ballad “Stolen Valor,” the eerie no-wave number “Whips of Holly” and the retro-rap (yep, that’s right), disco send-up, “Sharing My Cream.”

“First off, I don’t know if Cole and I are strong enough writers to do this whole thing—we definitely couldn’t write 25 years of songs by ourselves,” said Swilley “But we always looked at this as an art collective—like everyone is an equal member. And we’ve always made it that, no matter what anyone does or doesn’t contribute, we all get the same publishing. You avoid so much resentment and band drama when everyone gets paid exactly the same.”

While the band has always cohered around the concept of southern-fried garage rock, they’ve never fit neatly into a particular genre scene (their roots track back to a tight knit group of Atlanta bands, whose membership range in style and sound from the heavy metal of Mastodon to the avant garde noise rock of Deerhunter.) 

Their sonics have grown all the more expansive in the past decade with the addition of saxophonist Zumi Rosow, whose inputs bring a funkier, skronkier edge to the band. Along with drummer Oakley Munson, who joined in 2017, the band has kept the same personnel for the past six years, a remarkable period of consistency for an outfit of their experience (many of their contemporaries trot out a different lineup for each new tour or album.) 

And despite hitting the quarter-century mark, the Black Lips have no intentions of slowing down. An outfit famed for touring in the most outlandish of locales, Swilley said the band has its sights set on a jaunt through the Central Asian countries of Mongolia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan. He also said the band is also working on a new album, which they hope to put out next spring. He noted that this latest effort was almost a return to form from their earlier days.

“For the first time in a long time, this album is mostly just me and Cole,” said Swilley. “We haven’t had one like this since, probably [2011’s] ‘Arabia Mountain.’ We have a lot of rock stuff and Cole has some super weird stuff—it’s been a great process so far.”

With their expanded footprint on the new album, the timing is ideal for a renewed appreciation of Alexander and Swilley’s songwriting prowess. Because the band has been synonymous for so long with outrageous stage antics and general tomfoolery, it can be lost that these lifelong friends are also incredible musicians and creative artists. Over the years, their output of enduring, strangely heartfelt, uproarious and memorable indie rock songs stands completely favorably with any of the most celebrated bands of the past generation. 

Their generosity and willingness to share the creative helm, notwithstanding, Cole and Swilley will always be the beating hearts of this creative concoction called the Black Lips. Now in their early 40s (but seemingly ageless—for real, they look barely a day older from when they started), they’ve come a long way from their early days grappling with exasperated teachers and unrewarding jobs.

“I remember after recording [2005’s] ‘Let it Bloom,’ we went on tour with the Dirtbombs,” said Swilley. “It was the first time I came home with money, and my boss at the diner I worked at asked me if I needed any more shifts, and I realized that I didn’t need to work there—that I could actually do this music thing.”

From working thankless shifts at diners to touring the most distant part of the globe—the Black Lips story continues. Here’s to 25 more years.

Show Details:
Black Lips with Descartes a Kant and Pancho and The Wizards
Where: Rickshaw Stop
When: 8 p.m., Sunday, November 3
Tickets: $25/$30, available for purchase here.

Friko Return to Bay Area Supporting one of 2024’s Best Albums

Photo Credit: Pooneh Ghana
Chicago outfit touring behind landmark debut album, “Where We’ve Been, Where We Go From Here".

When you’re listening to the music of Friko, Niko Kapetan wants to make sure you’re really listening.

On the Chicago indie rock band’s glorious debut album, this year’s “Where We've Been, Where We Go from Here,” it’s impossible to get comfortable. Austere piano ballads are followed by breakneck post-punk thrashers. Kitchen-sink indie rock anthems sit side-by-side with humble guitar numbers and multi-suite baroque chamber pop epics give way to crashing, blown-out shoegaze pieces.

That discordant, invigorating environment is all by design, according to Kapetan, the band’s guitarist, vocalist and co-founding member alongside drummer Bailey Minzenberger.

“The last thing I ever want to make is music that could just play in the background,” said Kapetan. “When I show people our music and that’s their reaction, I want to literally die. Maybe we’ll make a movie soundtrack of some ambient stuff someday, but for now, we want to go against that feeling. We hope you’re paying attention when you listen to our album.”

On Thursday and Friday, Friko will surely be grabbing the attention of listeners when they perform at The Fillmore and Fox Theater in Oakland, respectively. They’ll be opening those shows for Australian rockers Royel Otis.

The performances are the latest part of a non-stop touring schedule for Friko, which has earned rave reviews for “Where We’ve Been, Where We Go From Here.” A deeply ambitious album that’s rare by today’s standards, the record maps out a band unafraid to explore different genres, moods, tones and approaches. The result is one of the best albums of the year, if not the best.

It's a truly dizzying display of the band’s talents—one that shows an endlessly inventive approach to sonic structures while tracing a lyrical narrative that grapples with regret, memory and the ephemeral nature of passing time. Each song feels singular, yet part of a bold, cohesive mission statement.

“Crimson to Chrome” is a spiky, cascading punk rock testimonial, full of starts and stops and punctuated by Kapetan’s declaration that “We're either too old, too bold or stupid to move/I guess we’re caught on the wrong side of the shoe again.” “Crashing Through” matches that song’s dynamism, with its army of guitars and moments of explosive energy, powered in large part by Minzenberger’s insistent percussion work. 

“Chemical” quickly transforms from a gospel rendition of “Ave Maria” into a tortured, maniacal race against the clock—a frantic dash powered by spiky guitars and Kapetan’s repeated screaming of “Chemical! Chemical!” “Get Numb To It” captures Kapetan at his most desperate, again returning to the thematic motif of time’s endless march, punctuated by the desultory startlement that “It doesn't get better/It just gets twice as bad because you let it.” Kapetan manages to transform that sentiment, however, by viewing isolation and depression as emotions that can ultimately be bonding, exemplified by him evoking the album title: “Where we've been, where we go from here/Take your weight and throw your arms around me.”

“This album was definitely written from a dark place,” said Kapetan. “But if there was a throughline that we wanted to maintain in the album, it was about trying to find joy in those dark places.”

It’s a highly attuned album, emotionally. While Kapetan screams and thrashes on the record’s loud set pieces, he’s equally ruminative and reflective on the release’s most subdued numbers. “For Ella” is a gorgeous lament, just Kapetan and a piano, and his painful retellings of a love lost. “Until I’m With You Again” is another stark composition—a broken heart’s autobiographical tale, and “Cardinal” closes out the album on the most introspective note possible, with Kapetan’s cooing falsetto matched by melancholy string sections. 

The highpoint of the album comes at the very beginning, with the opening track “Where We’ve Been.” Containing an array of distinct movements within a single track, the song serves as a manifesto for the rest of the record—a slow building, churning document that foresees the emotional ebbs and flows of what’s to come while ending in a glorious gang vocal sing along. The song has already reached legendary status—Paste Magazine listed it as the top track of 2024 in its mid-year review.

“That song had this kind of magical feeling from the beginning,” said Kapetan. “It was one of those tracks where everything basically came together in 45 minutes. You have certain songs where you labor over them for hours and hours and nothing comes up, and then you have some where it just feels supernatural. We recorded it once and it was that take on the record. It was just this amazing, special feeling.”

“Where We’ve Been, Where We Go From Here,” is almost perfectly balanced between soft and loud, defiant and accepting, angry and peaceful. As such, it requires that active listening that Kapetan said is a major emphasis of the band.

Additionally, it evokes all the great, ridiculously grand indie rock albums of the early Aughts—everything from Bright Eyes’ “Lifted, Or The Story is In the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground” to …And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead’s “Source Tags and Codes.” With its heart-on-sleeve sentiment, however, its most clear predecessor is Arcade Fire’s landmark 2004 record, “Funeral.”

“We really wanted to show our aspirations with this album—for it to almost be overwhelming,” said Kapetan. “Growing up, indie rock was just so exciting for us, and we wanted to replicate that feeling. But we also love songwriters and playing just quiet acoustic guitar songs. For this first record, we wanted to dive into every realm of possibility, to make it open enough where we could do anything on the next album, and it wouldn’t be a total surprise.”

Kapetan said the band is already plotting out new material for its sophomore album. At this point, the only thing that would be surprising about that effort is if it’s not another generous, daring and vibrant work of art. 

Show Details:
Friko with Royel Otis
Where: The Fillmore and the Fox Theater
When: 8 p.m., Thursday, October 17 at the Fillmore and 8 p.m., Friday, October 18 at the Fox.
Tickets: $50.60 at the Fox Theater, available here. $42.75 at the Fillmore, available here.

Stars Performing Classic Album at the Chapel on Sunday

Photo Credit: Stars
Canadian indie rockers celebrating 20th anniversary of “Set Yourself on Fire.”

“When there’s nothing left to burn, you have to set yourself on fire.”

That spoken-word opening salvo is the first thing listeners hear on “Set Yourself On Fire,” the seminal 2004 album from Canadian indie rock outfit Stars.

Delivered with a stern, Mid-Atlantic accent, the declaration feels lifted from a gritty noir film starring Humphrey Bogart or a 1940s radio broadcast warning of the perils of fascism. Instead, the unlikely orator of that line—which serves as a manifesto for the entire album—is actually the father of Stars frontman Torquil Campbell.

“Yeah, that’s my dad,” said Campbell. “I wanted to start the record with a quote, and I had been kind of jotting that line down on my arm for a little while because I was too scared to get a tattoo. We were in the mastering suite, basically finishing up the album and I got my dad on the phone, and he recorded that real quick. He always liked to complain that he never earned a penny in royalties from that contribution.”

On October 20 at the Chapel, the band will play their beloved third album in full, part of an ongoing tour celebrating the 20th anniversary of the release. The guest vocal contribution of Campbell’s father—which kickstarted the opening track, “Your Ex-Lover Is Dead” has played a strangely enduring role in the legacy of the album. 

That statement is about defiant self-belief and irreverent radicalism, helping set the tone for “Set Yourself on Fire” and perfectly epitomizing the ethos of the band. Much like today, the world of 2004 was a chaotic, war-torn time, with the Iraqi and Afghanistan conflicts looming large and the machismo of George W. Bush America running rampant. Stars sought to counter those nihilistic undercurrents with messages of empathy and understanding. 

“We were very convinced at the time that being soft and being loving was the ultimate punk act—and we still feel that way,” said Campbell. “That’s how we were raised—if you treat people with respect and dignity and love, that’s going to permeate out into the world. And if you act selfish and you don’t show love and don’t express vulnerability, the world will become a harder, nastier place. And then you get assholes like Donald Trump.”

So much of that communal sentiment derived from the explosion of artistic and creative endeavors happening in the band’s hometown of Toronto. At the time, that city was the epicenter of the indie rock world, with bands and artists like Broken Social Scene, Metric and Feist helping to define the expansive, exploratory sound of the early aughts. 

“It’s hard to describe that feeling in your 20s, when seemingly everyone you know just falls in love with each other,” said Campbell. “We all lived within, like six blocks of each other, and we were all just very obsessed with each other as people. We couldn’t stop hanging out with each other and going to each other’s shows and that energy was just a vortex you got caught up in.”

Whether it was the osmosis effect of the Toronto scene or an inspired burst of songwriting, the resulting effect was an astonishing catalog of songs collected on “Set Yourself on Fire.” Few albums capture the wonderment and awe offered by indie rock—a dynamic that perhaps reached its peak in 2004, when bands within the genre produced classic albums on a seemingly weekly basis. 

Every song on “Set Yourself on Fire” is a certifiable classic. “Your Ex-Lover is Dead” sets the tone from the onset with its heart-on-sleeve lyrics and lilting melodies. The title track is a jittering, propulsive pop classic, “Ageless Beauty” is a stunning shoegaze number and “Reunion” is a janglepop masterpiece. “First Five Times,” is a boozy, synthpop creation and “One More Night (Your Ex-Lover Remains Dead)” is a sweeping, orchestral piece characterized by the time honored soft-loud-soft dynamic.

Things take a more serious turn on the second half of the album, with Campbell delivering a scathing indictment of Bush-era foreign adventurism on “He Lied About Death,” and singer Amy Millan cooing a hopeful riposte to endless warmongering on “Celebration Guns.” The album closes with the gorgeous ballad “Calendar Girl”—a final return to more intimate settings.

For Campbell, mixing the personal (the intricacies of romantic relationships) with the universal (a world beset by war) made complete sense. 

“I just think, that’s fucking life,” said Campbell. “All the stuff, post-9/11 was fundamentally disruptive to our lives. The personal and political were completely intertwined. And nothing really has changed—in fact it’s becoming more pronounced. You go on Instagram, and you see someone talking about their new air fryer they just bought and the next post you see is about stopping the genocide. The difference in the personal and public appearances of people in this world have been erased.”

By melding those seemingly disparate concepts, Stars forecast the future in ways that feel eerily prescient. And despite having that wildly ambitious conceit, the album feels shockingly cohesive. Campbell and Millan trade off vocals like lovers having a conversation and the audacious sonic template (flitting between loud, discordant tracks and symphonic, baroque offerings) is deftly wielded by the stately musicianship of the band, anchored in large parts by virtuosic multi-instrumentalist Evan Cranley.

The result is a document of the times (one that received universal acclaim) that still feels absolutely vital 20 years later. Campbell said there was some initial hesitancy about embarking on a tour that could be seen as a nostalgia trip, but those misgivings were quickly dissipated after the first few shows.

“I can honestly say that these shows have been among the most beautiful experiences of my life,” said Campbell. “This record came out 20 years ago. That is an incredibly long period of time for us to hold on to our audience. It means everything to me that we’re still doing this.”

The band’s show at the Chapel sold out within a few days of tickets being offered and numerous other outings have been packed affairs on the tour. Campbell said the outpouring of support has encouraged them to extend these run of 20th anniversary shows.

“We want to keep this thing going,” said Campbell. “We plan on giving everything we got, for two hours every night. We want to give the people what they want—to make them cry and dance and sing and then send them home happy.”

Show Details:
Stars with Kevin Drew
Where: The Chapel
When: 8 p.m., Sunday October 20 
Tickets: Sold Out

Sunset Rubdown Continue Victory Tour after Unlikely Reunion

Photo Credit: Terry Ondang 
Canadian indie rockers will play at The Independent on October 14

We all know about “the rat.”

No, I’m not talking about the legendary Walkmen track. I mean that feeling of self-loathing, doubt and worthlessness. Some people call it anxiety. Others refer to it as stress. Or maybe we just chalk it up to modern living.

For Spencer Krug, the erudite lead singer and founder of Canadian indie rockers Sunset Rubdown, our sense of existential dread is anthropomorphized into that wily, sly little rodent. 

On “Reappearing Rat,” the band’s lead single off their terrific new album, “Always Happy to Explode,” Krug deftly captures our underlying insecurities, portraying a scene of domestic bliss interrupted by the ominous chorus, “But the rat, the rat, the rat/Has reappeared.” However, instead of taking that mantra as a pessimistic rejoinder, Krug said he actually views the song as a defiant ode to all the band has weathered recently.

“I think, on a not super-conscious level, that song was symbolic of the band overcoming all our doubts and overcoming all these challenges we’ve faced,” said Krug. “There are doubts in the lyrics, but for me, that song is about more than that. Actually, making that song was this amazing experience—it was this realization that this record could be fun, and we could enjoy doing this thing together. It made me love that song so much more.”

Krug—who first came to fame as one of the chief songwriters for the indie rock group Wolf Parade—will showcase the band’s triumph over that recurring rodent when they play at The Independent on October 14. It will be a victory lap of sorts for a band that’s risen like Lazarus on more than one occasion.  

The challenges Krug was referencing in his quote stem from a tumultuous recording process for the album. While all ensconced at Krug’s house on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, drummer Jordan Robson-Cramer tested positive for Covid, and bassist Nicholas Merz abruptly bolted during the sessions, taking an unplanned break to calm his nerves. Michael Doerksen, the band’s original guitarist, never even made it to the studio, so the new album was essentially recorded without any electric guitar.

Still, they persevered, accounting for a minor miracle and continuing the band’s wholly unexpected second act. “Always Happy to Explode” is the first Sunset Rubdown album in 15 years. When the group reformed to tour last year, it came as a shock to many, as Krug had repeatedly shot down any rumors about a potential reunion of the group.

But after being inspired by a dream (true story), Krug managed to corral all the founding members of the group (Doerksen, Robson-Cramer, and Camilla Wynne) for a 2023 tour, and after the success of that jaunt, Sunset Rubdown decided to record their first album since 2009’s “Dragonslayer.”

“I’d been saying for years that we’d never get back together—and that wasn’t a move on my part, I truly believed that,” said Krug. “But after doing this reunion tour, it seemed like both the band and our audiences were pleasantly surprised. There was this built-in gratitude to the whole tour—we were all so grateful we could get together and play these songs again. And our next step was always predicated on the success of the previous step. So, when the tour went well, we all decided it made sense to record a new album.”

Similar to past Sunset Rubdown efforts, the songs on “Always Happy To Explode” are unpredictable, labyrinthine creations, featuring abrupt tempo changes and dramatic sonic interludes. Powered by inventive synth and keyboard sounds, the tracks evoke an alien, unfamiliar and exciting sense of place—a world inhabited by ghouls, moths, snakes and other fantastical creatures that inhabit Krug’s trademark mythical narratives. Additionally, the “little lord”—a figure who pops up periodically in Krug’s songs, makes an appearance on the new album.

“Yeah, that’s the nickname I had when we first started with Wolf Parade,” said Krug. “I was very green to the music industry, and I had these certain lines I would refuse to cross. I wanted things to work in a certain way, and so I got that nickname, ‘little lord.’ It was pretty funny, so I just embraced it.”

Always self-effacing, Krug readily admits to his foibles, singing “And oh/The little lord's bored,” on “Worm,” the epic, penultimate track on the album, which, for the first time, features vocal contributions from all Sunset Rubdown band members (Merz stepped in for Doerksen during recording). Those arrangements add new depth to the band’s sound, with Wynne in particular making her presence felt by infusing stirring harmonies to most of the tunes. 

“I remember saying that I wanted to have a lot of vocals on this record, and not just a bunch of my voice,” said Krug. “I wanted to have lots of Camille singing, you know a lot from Jordan. And Nicholas, the new member, has this amazing voice. He’s that baritone you can hear come in from time to time.”

The cacophony of voices separates this Sunset Rubdown album from previous releases, proving that their extended break has only made the band more vibrant and creative. Equal parts prog and punk, “Always Happy To Explode” define easy categorization—a longtime specialty of the group and one that bodes well for the future.

“As long as Sunset Rubdown continues to be sustainable, I think we’re all on board,” said Krug. “I mean, no one is trying to get rich off this project. But if we people still want to hear us play our songs, we’re happy to perform them. I’m just trying to keep this whole thing alive—of making music. And it feels good to be doing that with this group of people.”

Show Details:
Sunset Rubdown with Sister Ray
Where: The Independent
When: 8 p.m., Monday, October 14
Tickets: $32, available here

As Silverware, Ainsley Wagoner Captures the Profundity of Music

Photo Credit: Marisa Bazan

SF artist will celebrate release of latest album, “One True Light,” with Sept. 24 show at Tiny Telephone studio in Oakland.

The story of Ainsley Wagoner’s life is also inevitably a story about music. 

The Kentucky native grew up playing piano and singing in her church, taking cues from her parents, who were the organist and choir director, respectively. From there, she attended the University of Kentucky, quickly ingratiating herself in the local arts scene while working for the school’s radio station and majoring in music.

It wasn’t until she moved to San Francisco in 2014 that she began to contemplate an existence without her longtime companion. Although it had been a part of her life since birth, music always felt like an organic presence—a calming backdrop that was effortless and natural. 

Upon moving to a new city thousands of miles from her home, Wagoner wondered if she would be able to find that same sense of community that accompanied her earliest memories. For once, she would have to search out this scene, instead of letting it come to her—a prospect that felt daunting.

“When I moved out here, I started to wonder if I only enjoyed music because I was always around it,” said Wagoner. “I wasn’t sure who I’d be once I stepped away from my hometown. But after maybe two years of not doing it, I couldn’t even enjoy listening to music. At shows I was so deeply envious of the people performing. I knew that I had to figure out how to keep making music and find people to do it with here.”

That revelation impelled Wagoner to continue exploring music under her creative moniker, Silverware. On August 30, she released the second full-length Silverware album, “One True Light,” and on September 24, she’ll play tracks from that record at the Tiny Telephone recording studio in Oakland. 

“One True Light” is humble, yet ethereal—grounded in a DIY ethos but also uplifted by Wagoner’s boundless talent and technical expertise. It is secular spiritual creation, an ambitious concept album of sorts that combines Wagoner’s varied influences—everything from the experimental noise bands she played in college to her formative years spent in the church. Flitting between art-rock, synth pop and indie-folk, the album recalls acts such as Indigo de Souza, Bat for Lashes and Chairlift (Caroline Polachek’s pre-breakthrough outfit.) It’s a powerful statement from a musician who draws just as comfortably from Sonic Youth as she does from hymns.

Although she’s now firmly ensconced in the local music scene (in addition to her solo work, Wagoner plays in the awesome indie rock band, Galore), that integration took some time. Wagoner moved from a tight-knit artistic community in Lexington to a city where she knew literally no one. Slowly, she found a group of like-minded artists, mostly from playing at the Mission haunt The Rite Spot Café, making connections with DJs at the indie radio station BFF.fm, while meeting a crew of musicians and engineers working at Tiny Telephone.

Among that Tiny Telephone crew, she connected with Omar Akrouche, who records as Worthitpurchase. The two collaborated on the 2021 debut Silverware album, “No Plans,” and worked together once again on “One True Light.” Nearly immediately after the first album was released in 2021, they began work on the follow-up.

Unlike for the debut album, however, when both lived in the Bay area, the recording for “One True Light,” took more time, due to Akrouche moving to Los Angeles. In addition to the logistical challenges, Wagoner said she had difficulty letting go of the final product.

“I’m not sure how Omar remembers this, but I feel like there was a 3 – 6 month period toward the end where I couldn’t listen to the mixes, because I wasn’t ready to say they were done,” said Wagoner.  “I love “No Plans,” and I’m really proud of that record, but I would listen back and hear things that I wish I had done differently. For this album, over the 2.5 years we were recording, I redid the vocals a lot, because I was getting better at delivering them, and I was playing the songs with my band which helped me refine arrangements. After “No Plans”, I understood better the permanence of recording, so if there was anything I could do to improve the songs, I was going to do that.”

That attention to detail is illustrated gorgeously in “One True Light.” Despite recording in numerous different locales, the album feels crisp, coherent and fully-formed. There are moments of quiet devastation and jarring dissonant interjections, but it’s all a natural ebb and flow that naturally mirrors life’s ups and downs.

The title track kicks off the album in magnetic fashion, shifting quickly from a solemn, hushed number into an urgent, bracing piece capped off with a gritty guitar solo. “No Expectations” follows, an upbeat, thumping piano ballad that’s punctuated by shouted gang vocals of the chorus. “Search,” is a drone-y, atmospheric synth opus and “Longer” is an austere chamber lullaby, featuring a memorable appearance from a forlorn clarinet. “Goodbye,” a stark, dreamlike reverie, appropriately closes out the album. 

And whatever the tempo, tone or genre, every song on “One True Light” is anchored by Wagoner’s classically-trained voice—a silvery, ringing instrument that adds unique depth and pathos to the Silverware catalog.

Wagoner’s powerful delivery charges “Gloria,” the centerpiece of the record. Part dustbowl revival, part canticle, part wistful guitar ballad, the song tackles Wagoner’s evolving relationship with the church and her search for a spiritual guiding light that provides life’s meaning. 

“A lot of this album is wrestling with the dissonance of longing for security inside of a life built around making art,” said Wagoner. “It’s about this effort to stay close with this divine creative force, because I feel the best when I’m writing a song. That’s what makes life worth living—making music. I know there are no guarantees. I know that it might not be going anywhere, but I'm going to do it anyway.”

It's an apt takeaway from an album that exalts and showcases creativity’s profound powers. Wagoner’s musical journey will continue. 

Show Details:
Silverware with Affectionately
When: 7 p.m., Tuesday, September 24
Where: Tiny Telephone Oakland
Tickets: $17, available here.

Been Stellar Embrace Role as Gritty NYC Ambassadors

Photo Credit: Gabe Long

Been Stellar will play at the Warfield on Tuesday, September 24

We all know “(Theme From) New York, New York.” When we hear Frank Sinatra belt out that tune, America’s most famous city turns into a bountiful land of opportunity—a place where you can forget your small town worries and be embraced by a dazzling, electric new life.

Been Stellar, a great new post-punk band that formed in New York City, has a slightly different take on their adopted hometown.

Cheekily titling their debut new album, “Scream from New York, NY,” in reference to the classic showtune, the city haunts each track on the album, appearing not necessarily as a malicious entity, but one that informs every part of daily life. It’s a ghostly apparition, a looming presence in each tortured lyric, wiry guitar lick and crashing drumbeat. 

You can practically smell the freshly-poured tar, hear the blaring horns of traffic and see the wisps of vapors emanating from belowground when you put on this record. It’s a clangorous, dirty, sweaty New York—not exactly Old Blue Eyes version of the city.

“We wanted this album to be about New York, because we are all outsiders and this is the thing that drew us all together,” said guitarist Skyler Knapp. “It was always going to be our first statement to the world. But even beyond that, I find it incredibly difficult not to talk about New York when you’re living here. It’s a city that reinforces its own identity on you. Every experience is filtered through that lens.”

Knappy and vocalist Sam Slocum grew up together in the suburbs of Detroit before moving to New York to attend NYU in 2017. That’s where they met the other members of the band—guitarist Nando Dale, bassist Nico Brunstein and drummer Laila Wayans. (And yes, the band name is partially inspired by actor Ben Stiller, said Knapp, who added that he conceived of it when he was 14. “All of our songs are so serious. I thought it would be a nice contrast to add a little humor,” said Knapp.”)

Like their NYC forebears, Been Stellar are masters at creating atmospheric, lived-in moods— although their references are forgotten museums, vacant parks, grimy train stations and empty streets, as opposed to dank dive bars and seedy clubs. 

Despite those differences, Been Stellar still know how to capture the claustrophobic, loneliness-in-the-masses dissociation of urban life, encapsulated perfectly in “Start Again,” when Slocum drones “they don't complain about the noise from above/The neighbors hear the scream enough.”

Even though the band released its debut album just a few months ago, they have already become an established entity, attracting laudatory press from outlets like Rolling Stone, Pitchfork and Stereogum while embarking on a series of lengthy tours. On September 24, Been Stellar will open up for Irish punkers Fontaines D.C. at the Warfield.

As a band that proudly declaims their New York bonafides, Been Stellar understand the legacy they’re entering—but they’re okay with the identity they’ve carved out for themselves.

“Being a rock band in New York—or being a creative person of any kind—is obviously very daunting,” said Knapp. “You’re definitely stepping into these very big shoes, and it’s something we think about all the time. But I don’t mind those comparisons or references, because I’m confident in how we sound right now.”

With their origin story and bristly, post-punk sound, the band inevitably carry comparisons to NYC royalty such as Interpol, the Walkmen, and the Strokes, but Slocum’s loquacious, rangy delivery hews more closely to Elias Bender Rønnenfelt of Danish rockers Iceage, and the group’s maximalist approach evokes the great Austin act …And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead. Been Stellar can also bw surprisingly melodic, particularly on the Britpop adjacent tune “Sweet”—an album standout.

Although they concede that their New York predecessors influenced their sound, the group cited some inspirations outside that familiar oeuvre. In particular, the band sought to emulate drum sounds found on hip-hop records while taking cues from shoegaze outfits that perfected washed-out moods and tones. 

“We are huge fans of [UK shogezae group] Ride and we love how they jam for like three or four minutes and then kind of coast from there,” said Slocum, who coined the punny album title for the group. “Laila, our drummer, really loves Ride. On that song “Sweet” in particular, the idea was to let the drums kind of wash over you, but without losing that frantic kind of nature of the song.”

“Sweet” gets the big ballad treatment on the album, but the songs that find Been Stellar at the height of their powers are the urgent, Street Fighting Man-esque tracks like “Start Again,” “Passing Judgment” and “All in One.” These are all indignant, visceral and direct tunes, where you can practically see the spittle flying from Slocum’s mouth.

“Some of those songs were really inspired by other bands in New York,” said Knapp. “We toured with our friends Catcher, and they just had this level of fury and aggression in their songs that I really envied. Again—that’s a reaction to living in New York City. If you have something that's bothering you, it seems like the city almost puts an amplifier to it and feeds it back to you. I think we tried to convey that same kind of frustration in our songs.”

That sentiment might have a distinctively New York feel, but it can also resonate with anyone familiar with the beautifully chaotic existence of city living. Been Stellar have been prolific purveyors of that message, too—this upcoming visit to San Francisco will be the fourth such time they’ve played in the city—a notable achievement for such a young band.

The group has additional ambitious touring plans in the near future and have already written a host of songs for their next album. 

As a result, they are poised to continue their role as ambassadors of New York City—an inescapable obligation that they are more than capable of handling.

Show Details:
Fontaines D.C. with Been Stellar
When: 8 p.m., Tuesday, September 24
Where: The Warfield
Tickets: $35 + fees, available here.

Occupying a Distinct Spot in SF Scene, Galore to Take Stage at Bottom of Hill Friday

Photo credit: Wunmi Onibudo

Every week, the members of Galore gather for band practice at an isolated warehouse on the edge of the city’s Bayview District. 

Located among a heap of industrial buildings, the site is a go-to spot for local bands looking to rehearse, as the sprawling complex is affordable, functional and convenient (parking is ample.) The warehouse offers a communal gathering spot—a place for bands to exchange gear and pleasantries while situated among salvage yards and empty streets.

The cozy-yet-remote confines of the warehouse offer an apt metaphor of sorts for Galore: while they are deeply enmeshed in the local music ecosystem, frequently sharing bills with their contemporaries, the band does not fit snugly within some of San Francisco’s existing niches.

They don’t practice the honed janglepop of their peers on Slumberland Records, nor do they embrace the sonorous, lo-fi musings of acts that gravitate around the Paisley Shirt Records or the fuzzed-out dreampop explorations of bands such as the Reds, Pinks and Purples and Seablite. Their influences are diffuse and disparate—one moment Galore is a manic reincarnation of the post-punk greats Wire, other times they embrace the vast sonic landscapes of shoegaze legends Mazzy Star and still other moments they sound like bands from California’s distant past, with their multi-part harmonies and brimming hooks. 

“I feel like with certain bands, you can point really quickly to their influences, which is great,” said Ainsley Wagoner, guitarist and newest member of the four-piece band. “But that’s not really the case with us.”

Since forming, the band has issued one full-length album, one EP and a demo tape, but they’re currently working on their next release, which they hope to release next spring. On Friday night, at Bottom of the Hill, they’ll be playing a host of those new songs while opening up for post-hardcore/power-pop practitioner Tony Molina and Oakland garage rock outfit Unity.

This latest batch of tunes should be the most assured, focused effort of the band’s career. While the foundation of Galore is based around the twin songwriting efforts of guitarist Griffin Jones and bassist Ava Rosen, the band is an egalitarian endeavor, with drummer Hannah Smith and Wagoner adding their own personal inflections into the mix.

Most significantly, the band is taking an increasingly more engaged role in the producing and recording process of their songs. While they’re working with prolific Bay Area producer Jason Kick on their upcoming album, they’ve been given the bandwidth to fully explore the studio for their latest effort—a freedom that wasn’t available in past sessions, due to scheduling and other constraints.

“Just having this dedicated time on a regular basis in the studio to be able come in with edits and execute on those changes has made this a completely different experience,” said Jones. “We will all listen together to a recording and come up with feedback and ideas, like, ‘oh, what if we tried this here, or add something else here?’ It’s been a great learning experience and got us all really excited to grow our studio skills.”

That creative approach has also engendered a growing familiarity and assurance among the band members, whose interactions in the studio have now become almost preternatural. 

“This has happened a few times now during recording, where I’ll look over at Ava and say like, ‘I want it to be like this’ and she’ll immediately respond, ‘that’s what I was going to say!’” said Jones. “We’ve definitely developed that unspoken thing together.”

Rosen said the band’s familiarity with one another has created a language for their creative impulses. 

“When we say we want to hear the sound of breaking glass, we all know what that means,” said Rosen. “Or if we want the tom to sound ‘boom-y.’ We’re all on the same wavelength, and that’s really because we’re all more confident in what we are doing now.”

The band has been working on their 10 latest songs for about a year now, refining and honing their unique, difficult-to-define style. The band’s earlier efforts embraced more of a punk ethos, with rapid pacing and brash, rollicking guitar work taking the forefront. For their 2022 EP, the band slowed down the tempo and further explored multi-part vocals, offering a more hushed, introspective alternative.

In addition to spending more time perfecting their craft, Galore’s sound is due for another evolution, now that Wagoner has joined the group (she replaces previous guitarist Britta Leijonflycht.) While Wagoner, who also records as a solo artist under the moniker Silverware, has taken more of a supporting role so far in Galore, her experience as a producer and songwriter offers tantalizing new possibilities for the band.

“With Ainsley in the band now, it almost feels like we can create this new version of Galore,” said Rosen. “We don’t have to do things exactly like we did in the past. It just makes me all the more excited to get back to the studio and work out new things with her. Plus, she shreds on guitar.”

While they prep for the release of their upcoming album, the band has plans to maintain their regular live presence in San Francisco. They’re also eager to embark on some mini-tours to promote the new album (they still haven’t performed outside the Bay Area.)

“We definitely want to tour,” said Smith, the drummer. “I think we’re committed to doing that—I mean that’s the dream. We just have to find the right time to do that.”

Until then, the band will continue to occupy their distinct space within the San Francisco scene. Apart, but not separate—here, but not quite there. Galore is a band that defines itself from within, not without.

Show Details:

Tony Molina with Unity and Galore
When: 8:30 p.m., Friday, September 6
Where: Bottom of the Hill
Tickets: $18/$22, available here.

Chime School To Celebrate New Album With Record Release Party Friday at the Make Out Room

Photo by Britta Leijonflycht

Andy Pastalaniec can write a pop song.

All it takes is one cycle through the self-titled debut album of Chime School—Pastalaniec’s creative vehicle—to see that he has an almost preternatural feel for the craft. A joyful tableau of breezy urban life, the album is a janglepop journey through San Francisco—a synthesis of the Kinks’ ability to uplift the minutiae of everyday life with the catchy sensibilities of Sarah Records’ bands.

For his much-anticipated sophomore album, “The Boy Who Ran The Paisley Hotel,” Pastalaniec expands on those effortless pop ditties with a newfound pathos, incorporating emotive, vulnerable elements to his songwriting. It makes for an even more rewarding and enriching listening experience.

“The first record is so inspired by my love of pop music,” said Pastalaniec, who will celebrate the Friday release of the album with a show that night at the Make Out Room. “I was just so ecstatic to be writing those songs. I tried to stuff as many little tricks and fun things as I could to make those feel like pop songs. For this second album, I wasn’t trying to make a sad record or anything, but I just wanted to be more thoughtful.”

“The Boy Who Ran The Paisley Hotel” features plenty of Pastalaniec’s penchant for buoyant earworm masterpieces, with singles such as “Give Your Heart Away” and “Wandering Song” feeling like lost B-sides to the debut album. There are familiar touchpoints for the record—80s UK rockers East Village and Glaswegian legends Teenage Fanclub, for example—but tracks such as “The End” and, in particular, album closer, “Points of Light,” offer a tantalizing new direction for Chime School, one imbued with melancholy and jagged dissonance.

Pastalaniec, who also drums for San Francisco shoegaze act Seablite and hushed folkers Flowertown, cites the influence of local musicians for his expanding aesthetic.

“I definitely have drawn from the cluster of musicians here,” said Pastalaniec. “I am inspired by artists like Mike Ramos from Tony Jay and Karina Gill of Cindy and Kevin Linn from Paisley Shirt Records. Right around the time the first Chime School album came out, I started playing in the live formulation of Flowertown, which is Mike and Karina’s band. I really respect how they kind of bring a pensive and thoughtful element to all the creative work they do. I think some of that rubbed off on me.”

Unlike most of the Chime School catalog, “Points of Lights” is deliberately paced and features feedback-laden guitar. Pastalaniec’s vocals on the take feel particularly exposed and forlorn. It recalls all the greatest Britpop balladry from the 90s, replete with a searing guitar solo midway through the track.

“I actually wrote the song originally back in 2020 and at first it had this tempo that’s more along the lines of ‘This Charming Man,’” said Pastalaniec. “But that just didn’t feel right for this record. I started listening to a bunch of stuff that was a little slower and had kind of a more baggy beat. I was sort of thinking in terms of the last song of Teenage Fanclub’s ‘Bandwagonesque,’ that track called ‘Is This Music,’ which has this crazy distorted guitar and is the last song on that album. So, I repurposed the original guitar, which was very clean and jangly and just made it as big and distorted as possible. I knew it was going to be the last song after that.”

From the track sequencing to the artwork to the album title, (an ode to Linn’s Paisley Shirt record label and Biff Bang Pow's "The Girl Who Runs the Beat Hotel," among other inspirations), everything about the record feels very deliberate and thoughtful, a reflection of Pastalaniec’s expansive creative vision. 

Although Chime School has now morphed from a one-man creative endeavor into a solid four-piece live band (Phil Lantz on drums, Josh Miller on bass and Garett Goddard on guitar) Pastalaniec still wrote all the songs and played all the instruments for the “Boy Who Ran The Paisley Hotel.” He also recorded the album from his apartment. 

“That wasn’t the result of me being some kind of control freak,” said Pastalaniec. “I put the band together in 2022 and we were playing a lot of shows and I thought it made more sense for us to really focus on honing that live sound. I thought it would be better to make the record again on my own and kind of just go creatively nuts, and not really worry about wasting other people’s time.”

For the past several months, Pastalaniec has been incorporating songs from the new album into the live Chime School experience, and on Friday night, the new tunes will likely comprise more than half the set. Later this year, Chime School will bring those tunes to an international audience, with the band slated to go on a tour of the UK in October, following an appearance at the Paris Pop Festival on September 27.

In addition to the band’s international tour—something Pastalaniec has made a primary goal of the group—Chime School has plans to embark on West Coast and East Coast jaunts in the future as well. This year will mark the most extensive live schedule yet for the band, which is also receiving a bevy of positive reviews from influential music blogs. In June and July, the band got a series of glowing write-ups in Stereogum, a national outlet with a sterling reputation for championing up-and-coming indie bands.

“The response has been amazing—I’m completely humbled by any attention we get,” said Pastalaniec. “But one of the things I’ve learned from this process is that it’s really important to focus on your priorities. We aren’t the least bit famous by any means, but once you start getting attention, you do get a little distracted and sidetracked. At the end of the day, what matters most is making art and being surrounded by people who are part of a community that you care about.”

Show Details: 

Chime School with Hits and The Telephone Numbers
When: 7 p.m., Friday, August 23 
Where: The Make Out Room 
Tickets: $12, available here.